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Tiny increase in young appointees to federal posts after Liberal overhaul

May 21, 2019 | 9:44 AM

OTTAWA — Newly released documents show Liberal changes to the federal appointments system has yielded a small increase in the number of younger people getting government posts.

Documents from the Privy Council Office show that as of last year, fewer than five per cent of all appointments made under the Liberals’ system were of applicants between the ages of 25 and 34.

That age group is just under 20 per cent of the population.

A spokesman for the Privy Council Office says the government plans to “continue to increase youth representation” by working with organizational heads, boards and decision makers.

The government’s recently released youth strategy aims to have one youth representative on the boards of 75 per cent of Crown corporations within the next five years.

Months after taking power in late 2015, the Liberals changed how the government makes hundreds of appointments each year to positions such as the boards of Crown corporations and tribunals that make decisions on benefit payments and immigration claims.

The Canadian Press